Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez wants to give the district attorney's office more power to put away repeat criminal offenders for longer sentences.

Chavez held a press conference Wednesday with Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz and District Attorney Kari Brandenburg to talk about the importance of the program.

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Law enforcement officials and the district attorney's office agree that habitual offenders make up only a fraction of all of Albuquerque's criminals, But they want to keep such criminals off the streets for as long as possible. Officials hope this initiative they're calling the "stop" program will do just that.

Their message Wednesday was clear and simple: Enough is enough.

Chavez is asking the city to put aside $270,000 from Albuquerque's general fund. That money will hire two new lawyers in the district attorney's office, whose only jobs will be to research and prosecute habitual offenders.

"Once judges are made aware of the impact, and the criminal lifestyle a defendant is living, judges give heavier sentences," said Brandenburg.

She said her office is currently overrun with cases, and that too many career criminals are slipping through the cracks.

Schultz said the police department has a list 25 pages long of people they arrest over and over.

And with this new program -- having lawyers who will only handle repeat offender cases -- Schultz said there's a better shot of putting away career criminals. Schultz explained once officers arrest someone again, they'll notify the new attorneys that they have a repeat offender in custody.

"We're talking about offenders who are preying in our community," said Schultz, "and we've developed strategies for how to have specific resources to go after those offenders."

The program still needs to be approved by the Albuquerque City Council, but Chavez said he expects it to pass.

If it does pass, Brandenburg said the amount of time added on to a criminal's sentence cannot be suspended or deferred. She said enhanced sentences under the proposed program will apply only to previously convicted criminals, but not to those who have multiple arrests with no previous convictions.